Thank you so much for praying for us. Michael’s surgery was successful, and he is recovering in the ICU. I saw him last night, and he wanted to thank you all for praying. Your prayers lifted me up as I waited in the hospital.
Please continue to pray for his recovery. He is scheduled to stay there for another 2 weeks, and we won’t be able to visit him in the hospital because the number of Covid patients is increasing.
Many of you have emailed us, and I apologize for not being able to write back. I will be writing you soon!
It has been a while since we last updated our blog, and we apologize for not writing sooner. The last three years brought lots of challenges, but we are thankful for His faithfulness. We pray you and your family are doing well.
We are writing this post to ask for an urgent prayer. Recently, we found out Michael has cancer. We were all shocked to hear the news. Our boys are having a hard time processing the news. There are many unknowns at this moment.
However, we are thankful that our God is almighty and He has the plans to give us hope and a future.
We want to say thank you to those who are praying for us, supporting us, providing meals, watching our boys, and offering to help. Thank you for being there for us.
Michael will have a surgery at 10 am in Japan on Wednesday (7 pm CST on Tuesday night in America). It is expected to last for 7 hours.
Thank you in advance for praying for us. We appreciate all your prayers and support.
Greetings! We pray you all are having a wonderful season!
We thank you for all your prayers and support throughout the year. We feel your prayers every single day. We are thankful for God’s grace and provision. God has given us many opportunities to share His love with Japanese people this year, and we are excited to see our ministry and friendships grow.
Thank you for your continued prayers as we share God’s hope and love with those around us.
We’ve met many people at Hope House!
Love these families.
Vacation Bible School at our church.
We served with a mission team from Waialae Baptist Church in Hawaii.
They ministered to so many people!
Children loved to hear the Bible stories.
Aloha!
Beautiful garden in northern Miyagi.
Children at our church made rice balls for lunch.
Children’s Fellowship.
Logan was asked to be our friend’s ring bearer.
We are blessed by our friends.
English Ministry at church.
Children singing songs this past Sunday.
Families from our English classes came to our morning worship.
Greetings! We pray you are enjoying the beautiful autumn season.
Hope House Ministry
Japan is a beautiful country filled with wonderful people. However, those who serve here can attest that Japan is difficult soil to cultivate. For many years, we labored in our community to reassure our neighbors that we are not a cult and that the place we worship does not require perfection before one enters. Ironically, people attend church outreach events for the community. But, due to the stigmas they did not feel comfortable attending worship.
Guest are joyful to break bread with us at our home and study God’s word. Sadly, our house is not that spacious and many times we had more guest than our house can hold. We prayed God provide a place that is not only big enough to host a large group but also informal enough for newcomers. God answered our prayer last year and we now have such a place. We have named this new ministry, Hope House.
Summer Fellowships
We hosted many events at Hope House this summer. One of the highlights was seeing families come and fellowship together. Our outreach program at church was mainly for children and mothers. Whenever we invited fathers to church ministries, most of them had excuses not to come such as “I’m too busy” and “Church is not for me.” Many children shared in times past that they are lonely because they do not have much family time since dad is “too busy.”
Family Outreach
Seeing families coming together was a huge blessing! We met several dads for the first time and they were so happy to be there! We all had so much fun and laughed a lot! It seemed like many dads enjoyed getting to know other dads as well. We praise God for answering our prayers. We use these times to build relationships as we prayerfully discern those who are open to the gospel. Here it is taboo to discuss politics, religion, the military, and even sports with those you are not familiar. We praise Him for those He is calling.
College Outreach
We also invited college students. Because it was during summer break, only two of them could come, but we had a great time with them. One of them lives away from his family and he said it was nice to have a home cooked meal. Our boys had the best time with them. It is encouraging to continue ministering to young adults in our community and encourage their walk with Christ.
Fall Events
This fall, we will a have a tea time with single moms and their children. We want them to know how much they are loved and how much we care. Please pray our time with them will be an encouragement to them. After the tea time, we will also have a flea market to help raise money for an orphanage.
Last week we attended the Tohoku (northern Japan) Baptist Retreat this week. About 90 members from 12 Baptist churches in northern Japan gathered in Matsushima (well known sightseeing place) to have a retreat. This year, our church hosted this event and all the church members worked as a team to prepare.
Worship Service and Children’s Program
During the opening worship service, children from our church sang two praise songs and they did an amazing job! After the service, we led the children’s program. We took children to the facility that used to be an elementary school. This school was severely damaged by the tsunami in 2011. The city built a new school on a higher ground, but they decided to keep this old building to use it as a memorial place to remember the March 11 disaster. They also wanted to use this facility to teach people what to do during a major earthquake.
Children had so much fun playing at the play area. It was a very unique experience. Each station was used to teach a lesson. For example, the play house represented a damaged town, the rock climbing wall represented a sea wall, the cargo net represented a big tsunami, and the slide represented a mountain. They all teach children the importance of running to higher ground as soon as possible.
Museum and First Aid Training
After playing, we all went to the memorial room to see photos and videos of the March 11 disaster. It was not easy to see them but they stimulated important conversations with the children. We talked about what we should do and several children said “pray to God first”. While that was a good reminder for everyone, it is also a good idea to run to safety as you are praying!
There was another room where children could learn emergency life skills. Many children did not know how to use a public phone. They were amazed! They also learned how to use a vending machine when the power is out!
At the end, we went to the theater room to watch a short movie about the history of this area and how people are working hard to rebuild the city. Some children had tears in their eyes. Before we left, we gathered in front of the entrance to pray for those who are still going through struggles as well as for those who are working hard to rebuild the city.
Encouragement for Adults
While we were away for the children’s program, the adults had several sessions and small group discussions. They all seemed to have a good time learning together. Tohoku area is so big and it is not easy to get together. Many church members look forward to this annual retreat. The speaker’s messages were encouraging and the fellowship was uplifting. During the small group discussions, some people shared the challenges that they are facing in their lives as well as major needs at their church. Please pray for Japanese believers and churches to stay strong and bold to share the good news of Christ!
The weather here in Sendai is beginning to cool down marking the approach of autumn here in Japan. This means that our fun summer has come to an end. So much to share. Where to begin?
Summer Events
First, children’s ministry is one of our main ministries and we all had a great summer! Just days after we came back from Hawaii, we hosted a children’s camp. Children from two churches got together to have fun studying the word! It is always a blessing to partner with our sister church to host this event and we love serving with their church members. Our boys had a great time making new friends. Many of them came from non-Christian homes. The pastor of our sister church led the Bible lessons and we all had meaningful conversations in small groups. We pray the seeds planted will grow to fruition.
Second, as you may already know, we host a monthly children’s fellowship at our church. We have worship, Bible study, dinner, and craft time. It’s one of our boys’ favorite times of the month. In August we changed things up a bit and had a pool party. Everyone (including adults) had so much fun cooling off in the water! After play time, the children had a time of fellowship and bible verse memorization drills. We love seeing their smiles when they are able to recite a new verse! Please pray they will be bold to share the truth of God with their friends.
Peace and Much Needed Healing
Next, in the beginning of August, children from 4 churches in Sendai and Fukushima got together to have a day camp. We take turns hosting this camp and this year it was held at a sister church. The theme “Blessed are the peacemakers” taught what it means to be a peacemaker. Each small group looked at newspaper clippings to find photos and articles that represented “peace”.
At the day camp there were a few children from Fukushima in my small group. They have gone through unimaginable hardships since March of 2011. The photos they chose really touched me. Please continue to pray for those whose daily life is still affected.
What’s next?
Finally, in closing, we thank you for praying for us and Japanese people! Michael is busy working at Hope House (there will be a new post about Hope House soon), Yu loves her job as a teacher, and the boys are doing well at school. Please remember to pray for us as we attend the retreat this coming Monday. About 70 people from 13 Baptist churches in northern Japan will gather for this event. The main speaker is a pastor from Fukushima. Our church is hosting this retreat and is working so hard to prepare. We are leading the children’s program. We truly appreciate your prayers! Please let us know how we can pray for you! Praise Him! May He continue to give the increase during this autumn season!
Children’s Summer Camp
Game Time!
BBQ!
Bible Story Time
Happy campers!
They were so happy to make new friends.
Day camp for children from Sendai and Fukushima.
They learned what it means to be a peacemaker.
Looking for articles and photos that represent peace.
Learning how to make Japanese desserts.
We are getting good at making “ohagi”!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Hello! We hope you all had a wonderful summer. If you are teaching, in school, or have a family member in school, we pray you have a wonderful school year!
We are excited to share that we have joined a new sending organization. Central Missionary Clearinghouse (CMC) is based in Houston, Texas. If you would like to know more about them, please go to their website (CMCMissions.org/about).
Many of you have asked how you can support financially. We truly appreciate your generosity. Please go to the online giving page at https://www.cmcmissions.org/donate and follow instructions to make a new account. Or you may make an account by clicking the Click and Give box on this website. After your account is activated, please select Michael Towery as the recipient. Yu’s visa status does not allow her to be listed however we are serving together!
If you prefer to give by check, please read carefully the one time use DONOR FORM and address your check as instructed on the donor form. If our names are on the checks they will send them back to you. We apologize for the inconvenience. Unfortunately, donations sent directly to us will not be tax-deductible. Please send the Donor Form with your check to:
Central Missionary Clearinghouse (or simply CMC)
PO BOX 219228
HOUSTON TX 77218-9228
If you have any questions, please Contact Us and we will be happy to answer your questions. We praise Him and are so thankful for your generous gifts. Thank you for partnering with us to bring the Good News to Japanese people!
June and July were busy but wonderful months for us! We went to Hawaii to visit our dear friends and ministry partners. We spent a lot of time in prayer before leaving Japan and we prayed God would guide us and make His plans clear. He did more than we could have ever imagined while we were in Hawaii.
What made our trip so special were the people. They welcomed us, made us feel loved, encouraged us, prayed for us, and blessed us. From the mission house to stay to the car to drive, God provided everything we needed through our generous friends.
We enjoyed our family time, but more than anything, we loved spending time with old and new friends who are more like our family. Words cannot express how thankful we are. We used this opportunity to share what He is doing in Japan and it is so encouraging to know many people have a huge heart for Japan and Japanese people.
To our friends in Hawaii, thank you SO much for loving us and encouraging us. To our friends who were praying for us while we were in Hawaii, thank you for lifting us up.
We are thrilled to announce we are partnered with FBC Pearl City to share the Good News with Japanese people. We have worked with the mission teams sent by their church. They have also sent a great missionary couple to a city that is 4 hours away from our city. We can’t wait to see all the wonderful things He is going to do in Northern Japan where there are not many churches or believers.
Thank you for your continued prayers as we answer His calling to make Him known among Japanese people.
We are excited to share about our children’s ministry. God has blessed us through these children and their families. We love spending time and sharing God’s love with them. Thank you for praying for these families.
We teach and serve them every week.
They are children in our English classes.
We eat lunch together every Sunday.
We have a monthly children’s fellowship and we lead worship and the mission project.
Children and Mother’s dinner is one of our favorite events.
Greetings from Japan. We pray you and your family are well.
We are writing this to express our gratitude to all our prayer partners and financial supporters. First of all, we would not have been here without each one of you. We have faced many challenges and trials and your prayers and support kept us going. Please know how much we appreciate you all.
We also would like to let you know that we were notified April 1 via email by FBC Arlington that they would not continue with current or future ministry in Japan starting April of 2019. In addition, Michael’s contract with Restore Hope terminated on May 2nd.
We are sad to end our partnership with them. We are thankful for all their support over the last 8 years. We pray their work in other parts of the world will be fruitful.
We have spent the last month praying about our future. We asked our family and close friends to pray with us. Even though our future is uncertain, one thing we know for sure is that we are called to make Him known among Japanese people. So after much prayer and consideration, we decided to stay in Sendai to continue our ministry. We are in the process of joining a new sending agency as well as finding a new home church. We sincerely ask you all to pray with us. We want to follow God’s direction. We praise God for all the work He has started here and pray He will continue to bless His ministry.
We would appreciate it so much if you could continue praying for us and supporting our ministry. If you have any questions, please feel free to write us anytime. We will continue to update you as things progress.
As we reflect on this year, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness. We faced many challenges in our ministries as well as our daily lives, but God has provided what we needed. We continue to share the good news with Japanese people in this community. We are blessed to be a part of a loving church family and ministry team. Michael enjoys leading the Bible study and worship, and Yu enjoys ministering to moms and children. Luke and Logan are growing up quickly, and they enjoy fishing and playing soccer. They open doors for us to meet new families. Many of them have various needs and we have started a family focused ministry at our new ministry house called “Hope House.” It has already become a place where people receive encouragement and find hope in Christ. We are thankful for your prayers and support. We pray for God’s richest blessings on you and your family.
Our church family
Youth Retreat
Small group
Moms and Kids Ministry
Weekly English Class
We have a baby cousin
Thank you for praying for us and supporting our ministry
I shared about Thanksgiving in our children’s classes and moms’ groups this week, and I asked them what they are thankful for in their lives. Many of them talked about family, friends, food, house, jobs, toys, and different things. But one boy said he is thankful for Jesus, and several moms said they are thankful to God for an opportunity to know more about Him. One mom shared her life has changed so much since she started learning about God. It’s so exciting to see God working in their lives.
We are thankful God has sent us to Japan to make Him known. We also thank God for all our prayer and financial supporters who make it possible for us to share His love with Japanese people. Please know God is working in many ways here in Japan!
Greetings! We pray you are all having a blessed fall season.
The colors of leaves are changing here and they are so beautiful. We wish you could see them in person!
Michael is in America right now to share what God is doing in Japan. He will be in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee this month. He would love to meet with you in person or talk on the phone. Please email us at michaelandyu@gmail.com if you can make time to talk to him! We thank you in advance!
We have seen many photos of the fall festivals and special events held at churches over the last week. Instead of having the annual fall festival, we decided to have the fall party which was a smaller event, but all the kids and moms seemed to have a great time. Some of these moms started coming to the weekly “Bible Cafe” which is a small Bible study held at our church. And these children get excited when we share the Bible stories. Please pray these families will come to know Christ. And please pray dads will be willing to attend our special events!
They did a great job singing songs and reading a story aloud together!
God has blessed me with a wonderful church family and it made me realize I have so many things to be thankful for.
I love all the generations that are represented here. We can learn so much from each other. I am also thankful to have a wonderful pastor!
Some of these kids have gone through a difficult time. One boy lost his dad and one girl almost died because of an accident. One college student lost her grandparents in the tsunami. Their smile is a reminder of His faithfulness.
Every summer, we have a special worship service to think about peace. The oldest church member shared her testimony as a war survivor. Her testimony impacted many children including our boys. We had a meaningful conversation on our way home.
I am so thankful for these women at our church. It’s a blessing to have a group of women who pray for each other.
I love my church family! I pray we will continue to love each other and share His love with people around us. I am also thankful for our church family in Texas and those who are praying for us and supporting our ministry. I am praying you all are blessed by your church family as well.
Hello from Japan! We pray you are all enjoying the summer. A big typhoon just passed West Japan and it’s so hot now. Please pray for those who were affected by the heavy rain.
July went by quickly! One BIG praise is we have a new brother in Christ. Mr. Saito was baptized on July 8th. His wife and two children are believers and they prayed for his salvation for the last 18 years. Our God is so faithful!
Please pray for Mr. Saito as he begins his new journey as a follower of Christ!
We went to Tokyo to renew Logan’s passport and we had a chance to see our dear friends from DBU! We enjoyed meeting their baby girl!
Thankful for good friends!
We partnered with another church to host the Children’s Camp. Most of these children came from non-Christian homes. It was encouraging to see their excitement as they heard the gospel.
Please pray for the seeds that were planted.
Our friend from our sending church came to visit us for a few days. It was so good to see him again and we had a great time together. Thank you, Joel, for coming to see us and encouraging us!
With men at our church. The man wearing a black shirt is the one who got baptized.
We were all blessed by the gifts Joel brought from America! Our friends from Sunday School class are so generous and we appreciate their support!
Huge thank you to everyone who blessed us with these gifts!
We have been busy working at Hope House. We will be able to share more information soon, but there is a lot to be done in order for the house to be ready to be used for ministries. We invited one of our Japanese friends to Hope House to have dinner since she will be moving to another country soon. She thought this ministry house could bless many people because of its size and warm atmosphere.
Please pray for God’s provision for Hope House.
We helped with the VBS at our sister church. About 20 children gathered from 3 different churches. All the kids seemed to have fun learning about the Bible, getting to know each other, singing, and playing games!
These children represent the future of Japanese Christians! Please pray for them!
We had a farewell party for our Korean friend who has been attending our English Bible Study and Worship for the last 6 months. We really enjoyed seeing him every week and our boys loved playing baseball with him!
Please pray for Mr. Yu who is wearing a white t-shirt. He will be going to Korea next week.
Before we close, we want to share two big prayer requests. Yu and the boys were in a car accident this month. Thankfully, no one was injured. However, the car needs to be fixed and our insurance will not cover everything. Right now, we don’t have enough funds to cover the cost. It has been such an overwhelming process for us. We believe God is in control and He will provide everything we need. Please pray with us for His provision.
Second prayer request is for our dog, RT(Rat Terrier). Recently, he was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, and our vet believes he has a few months to live. Needless to say, we are all so shocked and discouraged. Luke is having such a tough time with this. Please pray we can provide the care our dog needs and we can all feel God’s presence and peace during this time.
The one on the right is RT and the one on the left is Eli. We brought them from America 7 years ago.
Thank you all so much for your prayers! When we get discouraged, we think of those who are praying for us and supporting us, and we are reminded so many prayer warriors are praying for us. Thank you from the bottom of our heart! We pray for God’s peace, guidance, and provision for all of you.
Greetings from Japan! We pray you are all doing well.
It’s finally getting warmer here in Sendai. It’s in the middle of the rainy season and all the flowers are so beautiful!
We struggled with some health issues this past month but we are all doing better. Please pray for our health as we begin this busy summer season!
We have a huge praise to share! One of the men that we have been ministering to for a while has decided to accept Christ as His Savior and he will be baptized in July. His family has been praying for his salvation for the last 20 years. Please pray for Mr. Saito as he prepares for his baptism.
Here are some photos from this past month!
We were honored to be a part of the special concert with members from 6 local churches!
Kids in our English classes love Mr. Michael!
We went to the local nursing home to deliver flowers.
Our church hosted a summer concert and there were more than 10 people who came to our church for the first time.
Yu loves leading the children’s program at church. They made Father’s Day cards for all the men at church.
Thank you so much for praying for us! We appreciate each of you!
Greetings from Japan! It finally started getting warmer here and we are enjoying this beautiful spring season. We pray you are all well.
We would like to share some of our memories from this spring. It has been a busy season with many exciting news! It’s hard to list all, but hope these photos will help you get to know more about us and our friends here!
We helped lead the Youth and Young Adult Retreat at our sister church. There were many students who attended for the first time.
Yu leads the Children’s Fellowship at our church every month. We are thankful these children are learning more about Christ.
Two children were baptized on Easter. What a blessing it was to see their joy when they shared their testimonies with the church family.
Michael leads the Bible Study and Worship on Sunday evening at our sister church. It’s a great group of both believers and non-believers from different countries.
We had a BBQ fellowship one Sunday evening after the worship service. We enjoy partnering with our missionary friends.
Yu went to South Korea to share about our ministries in Japan. She had a great time visiting several churches and meeting with friends.
Yu enjoys leading a moms group every week.
We had a farewell party for a family who moved to another part of Japan. We learned so much from this family.
We welcomed two friends from our sending church. We are thankful for their encouragement. They helped with our English ministry.
Logan turned 5! We celebrated his birthday with our friends!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support! As you may already know, we have been praying and preparing to start a new ministry for families, single moms, and senior citizens. We have some exciting updates to share soon. Please pray for God’s guidance as we seek His will! Thank you for partnering with us to share His love with Japanese people.
We are so sorry our website was down for a while. We are finally able to post new posts. We will catch up in the next few weeks! We hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Our Christmas was extra special this year because Luke was baptized. Many of you prayed for him and encouraged him over the years. Thank you so much for praying for him!
There were several families that came to church for the very first time this Christmas. It was their first time to hear the real Christmas story. One mom said it was the most wonderful Christmas ever. Please pray for these families.
We pray you all have a blessed new year. Thank you so much for praying for us and supporting us. We are honored to partner with you to share the gospel with Japanese people.
Thank you so much for praying for us as we hosted the Fall Festival last week. It was a big success! About 30 children and their moms came, and our church members had a chance to meet them. Children who come to our weekly English classes sang some songs and did their self introductions in front of everyone. They all did a great job and they made us proud! After playing fun games, Michael shared the gospel through pumpkin carving and told them God gives us His light to shine through us. Please continue to pray for those who heard the message. We want to thank everyone who donated toys and candies for this event. All the children (and their moms!) were so happy to receive them! We truly appreciate your prayers and support!
Hello from Japan! We pray you are enjoying this beautiful fall season!
God continues to bless our lives and ministries here. As many of you already know, we are teaching English classes at our church every week. Many parents want their children to learn English so having English classes opens doors for us to meet many children and their families.
We are hosting the annual Fall Festival at our church this Wednesday. We will be having many fun games and yummy goodies, but more importantly, we will be sharing the gospel with everyone who comes.
Please pray their hearts will be prepared to hear the gospel! And please remember us in your prayers as we prepare for this special event. We appreciate your prayers!
Last Saturday was such a happy day for all of us and our church members. Two young members got married. They are a very sweet couple and our family really enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them for the last few years. Our boys love and adore them! We are so happy for them as they start their new journey together, but we are also excited to witness this Christian couple making a lifelong commitment to serve the Lord together. We have faced many challenges as we ministered to young people in Sendai, so hearing about their story and the impact this church and its members had on them really touched us. Would you please pray for them? They are trying to share God’s love in their workplace. And please pray for us as we continue to minister to young adults in our city.
This past weekend, we were invited to be a part of the Family Camp hosted by the local Japanese church where we lead the Bible Study and Worship on Sunday evenings. It was an outreach program for non-Christian families. It was great to make new friends! While the children had their own program, we talked with other parents and we were able to share about why we came to Japan and how much we care about their family relationships. We talked a lot about the importance of having a quality time as a family. We were able to get many ideas as we prepare to start a new family focused ministry. Michael made friends with other dads and some of them asked if we could go have dinner together sometime. We look forward to getting to know them better. Thank you for praying for these families!
Can you believe we are leaving for Japan tomorrow morning? God has truly blessed our time in America. Our sending church, FBC Arlington, has approved us to serve in Japan for the next two years. We know many of you have prayed for us, provided financial support, and made our time here enjoyable. We want to say “THANK YOU!” to each one of you! We will do our best to keep in touch with you and we would love to know how we can pray for you. We trust God will continue to do amazing things in Japan and we can’t wait to share His love with many Japanese people. We appreciate your continued prayers. Thank you so much for walking this journey with us!
We are thankful for everyone who has prayed for us and encouraged us as we prepared for our next term.
Hello! We pray you are doing well and having a wonderful summer.
We are visiting our home church in Texas for a month and enjoying seeing family and friends.
We wanted to share about some of the special memories from this past spring and summer!
Our church hosted a team from Nuuanu Baptist Church in Hawaii. We had a great fellowship with them!
This year’s youth and young adult retreat was a lot of fun! We all learned what it means to be filled with God’s love and to share His love with those around us.
We visited the nursing home with our church members.
Michael’s Japanese friend and his wife invited us to have a picnic under the beautiful cherry blossom trees!
Our English classes are growing! We are teaching two classes right now.
We have several students and young adults who attend LIFE (Sunday Evening Bible Study and Worship) regularly.
We were invited to the BBQ fellowship at one of the local churches that we partner with and we made many new friends!
We hosted three BBQ fellowships this summer and had more than 70 people total! We are so thankful Michael’s new friends and their families joined us for the first time!
We are thankful for our missionary partners (from IMB) and Japanese Christian friends. They are leading and helping with the ministries while we are in America.
God is working in mighty ways in Japan! Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our ministries in Japan! We appreciate each of you so much!
We are so thankful for everyone who donated money to buy the children’s Bibles for the families that come to our church’s weekly ministries. Thanks to your generous gift, we were able to buy 40 Bibles! For most families, it was their first time to receive a Bible. We don’t have pictures of every family that received, but we could tell everyone appreciated this special gift. After the Christmas break, many children and moms told us how much they enjoy reading it. One boy said he is already half way done. Another girl asked many questions about her favorite story. We want to say thank you to everyone who gave and prayed!
(We apologize for not being able to post these photos sooner. We asked all the parents for their permission to post them on our blog.)
